


Beacon Hill Dragons

by OrionPax



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Basketball, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-17
Updated: 2014-08-15
Packaged: 2018-02-09 04:56:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1969806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OrionPax/pseuds/OrionPax
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beacon Hill Girls' School doesn't have the best record when it comes to its basketball team. The sport isn't as popular among the students these days so it's hard for them to even form a full team. Last year they made it all the way to the finals of regionals thanks to a pair of new comers, Yang Xiao Long and Pyrrha Nikos. Now it's their second year at the school and the rest of the team has graduated. They need to find at least three other players before they can even try to do better this time around</p>
<p>Even with the challenges ahead of her Yang can't wait to be back on the court. Everything gets thrown for a loop when the new transfer student Weiss Schnee shows up and demands a spot on the team.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Gathering Dragons

No one really played basketball at river side court. The city didn't see its upkeep as a necessary expense so it was a sorry sight. One of the hoops had fallen down before Yang was even born. Any marking that where there had long since been scuffed out by shoes and the weather. There were weeds and tall grass all around it. Most people who lived nearby probably didn't even know that there was anything here. But most of the things that turned people away where what charmed Yang about it. Plus when she wanted some privacy it was nice to just come alone and shoot hoops.

So here she was as the sun rose behind her and her headphones blared in her ears. She smiled wide and raised the ball. "And here it is folks. The Beacon Hill Dragons have had a long hard road here but if they sink this basket then they win regionals. Everything is on the shoulders of new comer Xiao Long. Can she bring home the trophy?" Yang made the shot and the ball soared right into the hoop with no problem. Yang threw her hands into the air and imitated a cheering crowd. "Now if only that was how it had actually happened."

The Dragons had lost by the tiniest margin last year. Now it was the day before the start of the school year and Yang was looking forwards to trying again. Beacon Hill never did great in regionals, sure they did decent enough but the team never made it as far as they did last year. Yang and her friend Pyrrha had joined the team and everyone attributed the Dragons' new found success to them. Yang wasn't exactly going to argue with that praise of course. The problem being that thanks to graduations only the two of them were left and no matter how amazing they were two people couldn't win a basketball tournament. If they couldn't fill out the ranks then they couldn't even play.

A few more shots and then she would head home, she had been out a few hours already. Yang had been feeling restless for the last few days and she just had to get out in the fresh air. Every day they got closer to the start of the new season she got more and more excited. She couldn't even share that with Pyrrha since she had been on a family holiday. So tomorrow she would be seeing her best friend for the first time in ages and starting to scout out the people she would be playing with for the next few years. All that just made her even more excited to get back to school.

She went over to grab her ball and spotted the person watching her. With her loud music and concentration on the hoop she hadn't noticed their approach. The girl was extremely pale, made even more striking by the jet black hair framing her face. Her clothes where all black like her hair or white like her skin. It made her look almost like a black and white photograph that had stepped out of the frame if not for the yellow eyes that where looking right at Yang. The girl said something and pointed at her with a hand wrapped in a black ribbon.

Yang pulled off her headphones. "Sorry didn't catch that?"

"I said you have some real skill there. Maybe with a bit more work you could actually win regionals this time around." The girl turned her back and walked towards the road. "That is if the White Fang weren't competing."

"Wait what?" Yang said, standing stunned for a few seconds. "Hey come back. Who are you?" She called out but the girl had turned a corner and vanished. Today was getting very weird and it had only just started. It really was time for her to go home before something else happened. But the whole way Yang's mind was buzzing. She had never heard of a team called the White Fang. They certainly hadn't faced them last year. There was only one thing she was sure about at this point though. This season was going to be fun.

*******

Yang hadn't even had time to take off her shoes properly when she was tackled off her feet. She couldn't hold out long under the tickling assault on her ribs and in seconds she was a squirming giggling mess. Ruby kept her pinned down until Yang was out of breath and begging for mercy. "Quite the welcome you have there Ruby." Yang said between pants.

"Well it's the last day I have with my sister before she goes off and becomes a basketball legend again. I have to get in as much time with you in as I can." Ruby said as she followed Yang into the kitchen. She looked at her big sister with a smile as she bumbled around trying to make some breakfast. Grabbing the eggs from her Ruby pushed Yang into a stool at the island. "You look like you are about to fall asleep, how long where you out? Oh Yang you know the rules about basketballs on the table." Ruby grabbed the ball and gently rolled it into the next room. When she turned back Yang had drifted off to sleep.

Yang woke up again to the sound of a cup being put down right in front of her. Her nose twitched a few times and then she sat up wiping the drool off her chin. She chugged the coffee gratefully. "Thanks for that. Got any more?" Yang tipped the cup over to prove there weren't even any drips left. When Ruby took it and slid a plate in front of her Yang smiled at the omelette. "Ohhhh it looks scrummy. And I'm not going to stop being your sister just cause practice with the Dragons starts up again. I still live in this house and I love playing ball with you." She started shovelling food into her face.

Putting the refilled cup of coffee as close to the windmill of arms and forks as she could Ruby took a seat across from Yang. "Yeah I know that but you always get so busy. Man it's gonna be great next year when I get to join the Dragons. Then I can really start playing for real." Signal didn't even have a basketball team so Ruby had a hard time finding a way to play. But she made do with the hoop they had on the back of the house and made sure to come to all of Yang's games last year just to get a taste of the game. "I wish I could have skipped forwards a few years and go to Beacon Hill the same time you did."

Yang's fork clinked to a rest on her plate. She didn't want her sister to be sad on a day like today. She didn't want her sister to be sad on any day but today especially. "Oh hush up. I've seen you play and you are amazing even if you aren't playing for 'real'." She leaned over and poked Ruby in the forehead.

Ruby flailed about her arms and fell backwards off her stool. Yang jumped to her feet to check on her and found her giving a thumbs up from the floor. "I'm ok, just as soon as the stars stop twinkling in my eyes."

"Come on up you go." Yang said pulling Ruby to her feet. "How about after you sit down for a bit and clear your head we spend the rest of the day playing video games? I won't even complain if you snipe me in the head every time."

"Yes that sounds nice." Ruby said in a bit of a daze as she let Yang half carry her into the next room.

*******

The trophy case of Beacon Hill was one of the more optimistic additions to the school. Especially lately with the drop off in interest in basketball among the students. There in pride of place was the silver from last year's regionals and not a whole lot else. Yang's reflection looked back at her as she fixed her hair a little. She looked at the team picture with her and Pyrrha stood in the middle. Even though they were the newest additions to the team they had been allowed to hold the trophy since there was no question they had both been valuable players the whole way there. It was a good memory even if they lost, they had just been happy to play the game. The celebration was big enough as it was imagine what it would be like when they qualified for nationals.

"What does it say about our school that second place is our proudest accomplishment?" Pyrrha said from behind her. Yang turned around and picked her up in a huge bear hug. "Whoa there girl, I missed you too."

Yang looked up at a slightly more tanned than usual Pyrrha with a grin and then put her down gently. "So how many points would I get if I dunked you?"

Pyrrha was clearly trying to decide if Yang was joking for a few seconds. She finally decided that Yang probably wouldn't seriously try but knowing her there was always the chance so best to shut it down right now. "It's been a while since I read through the rule book but I'm fairly certain dunking your team mates is heavily frowned upon. Though I don't think there's actually any rule against it exactly."

"OK it’s noted then." Yang tapped her forehead as she committed it to memory. "Only dunk people on the other team."

Grabbing Yang's hand Pyrrha rolled her eyes and began pulling. "Come on let's get you to class before you make us both late on the first day back." But when they turned down the hall they found a girl with wide eyes and a beaming smile. She was looking at them in wonder. Pyrrha looked at Yang who just shrugged. "Hello there my name is..."

"Pyrrha Nikos!" The girl yelled pointing at Pyrrha. "And you are Yang Xiao Long. I watched you guys last year and you are both so cool. You're like an unstoppable force and an immovable object. Hey did you guys ever play against each other? We could finally answer that long standing question of what would happen if those two met. Oh and I'm Nora Valkyrie, the Dragon to be." She stuck out her hand once she was finished talking.

Pyrrha shook it, or rather she held on as Nora vigorously shook her hand. "Well it's nice to meet someone so enthusiastic about the sport. You'll be a welcome addition to the roster."

"Hey girl you need to get used to an adoring public for when you become a top athlete." Yang said and nudged her in the ribs. "Soon you’ll be on the front of every cereal box. Now Nora we are going to have to see what skills you have at try-outs at the end of the week." She pointed her thumb at the notice board on the other side of the room from the cabinet. She had put the flier up herself a few minutes ago so she knew it was there.

"Right you are." Nora saluted and then pushed her way into the passing students to cross the hallway.

With her height Pyrrha could just abouts look over everyone's heads to see the poster. "Oh very colourful. Did Ruby make it?"

Yang puffed up her chest in pride. "Actually it was all me. Turns out I'm just as good at art as I am at basketball."

Pyrrha looked back at the garish thing, she wasn't so sure she would agree with Yang on that point. "Well that aside we do actually need to be getting to class. I'll see you for lunch?"

"Yeah it's a date." Yang said. The bell rang and she sighed. As they parted Yang spun around to call out after Pyrrha. "Oh and if you aren't busy after school I was going to head to the Dragon Roost afterwards." The Dragon Roost was their affectionate name for the school gym. It was there home away from home after all so it made as much sense as anything else. Pyrrha gave a wave to show that she had heard and moved off towards class. Yang slipped into her own and found a seat that wasn't already taken.

The teacher looked up from her desk. "Yes welcome back to Beacon Hill for your second year. Glad to see the familiar faces, oh yes hurry up Miss Scarlatina you aren't late just yet." She said as one last girl ran into the room and took the last remaining seat in the room. Yang settled back in her own chair and let the teacher's speech about being ready to work even harder flow through her. She had a lot of hard work ahead of her on the court and she was looking forwards to every moment of it.

*******

"Man it’s been a long time coming but here we are." Yang crowed as she led Pyrrha towards the gym and spun the key to the locker room around her finger. She had gone to Ms Goodwitch to ask to be let in and had been given the key. Ms Goodwitch wasn't exactly the coach of the team, Beacon Hill didn't have the spare staff to have a coach for a team that traditionally wasn't very popular, but she did teach physical education so she had the keys to everything. Yang had always made sure to stay on her good side just in case she needed to be let in outside of school hours and scheduled practices. Even so she had only been given the key when she had assured Ms Goodwitch that Pyrrha would also be there to keep her in line.

"You make it sound like you haven't played since last year." Pyrrha said with a chuckle. As they walked she was sweeping her long red hair into a ponytail. "I know for a fact that that just isn't true. But I need a new uniform since I got a few inches taller over summer."

"Yeah I got a few more inches too." Yang pointed at her chest with a frown. It wasn't that much of a problem really but it did make some of her tops, including her basketball kit, a bit tight. The money she had spent on replacing parts of her wardrobe was the worst part. She planted both her hand against the doors and swung them open wide with a shout. "Welcome home Dragons." What neither of them had expected to see inside was a girl stood at centre court with her hands on her hips and a glare on her face. The glare was clearly aimed at them and her lip moved into a slight sneer. Yang narrowed her eyes. "Erm, yeah, who are you and what are you doing on our court?"

"Now Yang the gym itself is free to use when not booked." Pyrrha said laying a hand on Yang's shoulder. Then she turned to the new girl. She didn't remember this girl from last year so she must be a new student. "But yes who are you?"

The girl strutted over to them. Close up Yang could see just how beautiful she was. Her face had the delicate look of high living but it was offset by the scar over her eye and the firm set of her jaw. It was hard to tell under her frilly loose clothing but Yang thought she picked up some muscle on the girl. Her skin was soft but there was something in her eyes that made Yang sure she had something strong in her. "My name is Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Corporation and soon to be star player of the Dragons. Where do I collect my uniform?"

 


	2. The girl with the frozen stare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a quick note about the basketball. Some of the moves might not be strictly legal but I'm working on a more rule of cool style to match the over the top fight scenes from canon.

There was silence on the court. Then Yang waved her hands about. "No, no, no. You can't just say you are on the team. That's not how it's done."

Weiss somehow managed to look down her nose at them even though she was shorter than them both. "And who exactly are you? All I need from you is directions to the coach or captain or whoever deals with the roster and uniform so I can get set up and playing."

"We _are_ the team. Me and Pyrrha." Yang dropped her bag and began rummaging around in it. Soon she pulled out a slightly rumpled flier and started waving it in Weiss' face. "Try outs are in a few days. Says so right here. You want to join the team then you show up then."

Grabbing the flier out of her hand Weiss half turned and looked at it. "This looks like a child made it. You do know you don't have to use every crayon in the box don't you?"

Yang was flabbergasted for a moment before she found her footing again. "Woah there missy I'll have you know these posters are great. Try outs are going to be packed."

"Excuse me I think I have an idea of how to sort this." Pyrrha said quietly hold the key Yang had dropped in her frustration. "Weiss you want to prove yourself and Yang you want to put her in her place. How about you girls play each other?"

Weiss clicked her teeth in frustration. "I don't need to prove myself to this brute. But you seem more reasonable by far. If I can win does that mean I get a spot on the team?"

"Well as brutish as Yang can be she is right, that's not how it works. You would still have to attend try outs and earn your place but if you can beat Yang then that will score you a lot of points." Pyrrha said.

Yang was already struggling out of her jeans ignoring the protests from Weiss when she noticed. "Oh don't be so proper I have shorts on underneath." She plucked at her t-shirt thoughtfully. "And this is ok for playing in I think." And just like that over the course of about ten seconds she was ready to play basketball. She bounced on her feet and grinned. "Well are we playing or not? I guess you'll be ref Pyrrha?"

Weiss leaned in close to Pyrrha and muttered. "Does she always do that? Take her clothes off in public I mean."

"Uncomfortably often. I'm pretty sure if it meant she could play basketball she would strip naked in front of the whole school." Pyrrha matched Weiss' quiet voice. Then she stood up straight again and clapped her hands. "But enough of that. Let's get started shall we? Weiss you really do need to change, I assume you have something more suitable?" When Weiss nodded and rolled her eyes Pyrrha continued. "OK then I'll let you in to the locker rooms."

Yang started her warm up and watched them as they walked away. She wasn't too keen on this new girl's personality but she sure was pretty. But the important thing was weather she could play ball, if so then Yang was sure they would become friends soon enough. Mostly she was just glad to be playing so soon in the year.

*******

When they came back together at centre court Yang looked down at Weiss. Then she kept looking down until her eyes actually reached Weiss'. The girl was much shorter than she had looked before. Yang hadn’t realised just how big the heels Weiss was wearing were so now that she was in some more sensible footwear it was like she had shrunk. "Wow aren't you a little short to be playing basketball?" Yang waved her hand over the top of Weiss' head playfully.

There was an angry tick on Weiss' face. "Aren't you a little top heavy to be bouncing about?" She poked Yang in the chest.

"Now ladies can we please have some civility on the court?" Pyrrha said bouncing the ball a few times. She took her place between the two of them and held the ball out. She was going to start them off and then retreat to the benches to watch. "Let's make it a seven point game with loser's take. And keep it friendly, if you can't play a good clean game then neither of you should get a spot on the team. Are you both ready?" They nodded but kept their eyes locked on each other. Pyrrha blew her whistle and threw the ball up.

Yang left the floor counting on her height to score her possession but Weiss shot up past her. There was a flash of a smug smile and then the ball was gone and Weiss held possession of it. Yang moved to block but it was like trying to catch the wind. Weiss had moved past her and performed a text book lay up before Yang could really get a grip on what was happening. She had been scored on in seconds.

Weiss passed the ball over. "Well we could end this now if you want? Save you the embarrassment and give me my spot right now."

"Just play the game. No one likes a sore winner. Especially when they haven't won yet." Yang said. She took the ball and spun it in her hands. Weiss had already shown herself to be good at getting into the air but Yang needed to know how good so she could stop underestimating her. Raising her hands up she made a shot, she would have thought her height would play to her advantage. It hadn't even gone half way when Yang realised it was going to miss. But that didn't matter since Weiss leapt up like a salmon out of a river and slapped it away. Yang tried to catch it but Weiss was there again, feinted around her and sunk another shot in the basket.

Ok now it was really time to knock that dumb grin off of her face. Yang barrelled forwards right at Weiss. It was like watching a dear getting caught in the headlight of a sixteen wheeler. Yang broke Right before Weiss could find her feet and jumped. The ball left her fingertips as she gracefully soared through the air. Then she landed hard on one foot and her momentum still tugged her forwards. She hopped a few steps before crashing to a heap on the ground.

Yang got up and straightened herself out. Pyrrha had half stood up and looked worried and Weiss was tapping her foot impatiently. "Did I make the shot?" Yang asked as she rotated the shoulder she had landed on. Everything seemed to be in working order which was a good sign.

"I'd hardly call it a legal play but it did go in the net so I guess it counts." Weiss said with a huff.

Pyrrha crossed the room and put a hand on Yang's arm. "Are you honestly fine to continue? I don't want you to over exert yourself."

"I'm fine. I've taken worse falls roughhousing with Ruby." Yang said. "Don't be such a worry wart."

Pyrrha smiled and pushed Yang back towards the court. "Well I was more worried we would lose a player to injuries. In case you haven't noticed we don't have many to spare right now."

Yang put on an exaggerated hurt expression and then stuck her tongue out. She scooped up the ball with one hand. "Ok Weiss you're up to start." She passed the ball over and pushed her fringe back out of the way.

Catching the ball Weiss rolled her eyes. "It's about time. I hope this isn't how you act in real games." Without waiting for an answer she started moving. Yang had expected her to use her agility to her advantage and knew just how to counter it. By moving in as close as she could she made it far too cosy for Weiss to really move about. Yang towered over her so there was no way she could make a shot without getting around. She made and attempt, feinting left and then moving right. It was too quick a move for Yang to follow but she still had reach on her side and was just about able to block the ball.

Seconds after Weiss regained possession Yang had cornered her again. Weiss tried the feinting move again but Yang was ready and already moving to block. But this time Weiss wasn't there. She had sent the ball between both pair of legs and ducked under Yang's arm to grab it. Then it was a simple matter to put it through the hoop.

*******

Yang and Weiss both collapsed on the benches breathing hard. They were both covered in sweat by this point and had called a quick time out. It took them some time before they were ready to speak.

Yang turned to the feet on the bench next to her. Her eyes roamed upwards until they met Pyrrha's face. "So I hope you've been keeping track of the score cause I lost count."

"You really are pathetic." Weiss said with distaste. "Can't even remember simple one digit numbers for a game you are playing in."

"Oh well excuse me princess. Why don't you fill us in if you are so smart? What's the score?" Yang slumped on the bench. She looked at Weiss sitting upright, all prim and proper.

It was extremely amusing to see her flustered face. "Oh err... That's simple the score is... I mean..." Weiss was saved from answering when a water bottle descended into each girl's view.

Pyrrha smiled down at them. "I figured you two could do with replacing some fluids before you continue. And by the way the score currently sits at six to Weiss and five to Yang." They sat for a minute catching their breath. Yang was leaning against the side of Pyrrha’s leg and Weiss was a bit further away by her self facing the other direction. Pyrrha nudged Yang and spoke loud enough for Weiss to hear. "So what do you think of her playing so far? Looks like we will be able to put together a pretty formidable team if the others are near her skill level. And that Nora girl is sure enthusiastic if nothing else."

"Yeah that's true." Yang said. Her mind was on the mysterious White Fang and all the teams they had seen last year. She knew she was good and Pyrrha was great. Weiss was good but mostly an unknown factor. And they were going to need more than just enthusiasm to win this time around. "Come on it's the Dragons. Everyone wants to be us. So there are going to be plenty of girls to choose from. If not then I'll eat Weiss' sweaty socks." Yang said with a laugh that Pyrrha joined in on.

Weiss cleared her throat from right in front of Yang. "Well since you seem to think of this as one big joke then let's finish the game shall we?" She rammed the ball into Yang's lap. "It's loser's take." Then she strutted back to her place.

"Someone's a little tightly wound." Yang muttered.

Pyrrha gave her a look. "Now remember we might have to play with her for the rest of the year so don't make enemies. On the other hand I'd love to see you win this game."

"Well with her maiden's well wishes how can a knight fail to win this test of skill?" Yang said and moved over to Weiss. "You ready to start?" Weiss rolled her eyes and nodded. Yang moved forwards but spun to keep Weiss at her back. Backing up slowly with the ball she had enough surface area that Weiss just couldn't get around her. When she got close to the basket she waited for Weiss to make a move and turned to the other side. As she was setting up her shot though Weiss managed to bat the ball out of her hands and chased after it.

Catching it Weiss used the momentum to hook back around and come in fast. Yang was ready and put herself right in the way. She tried to read which way Weiss would turn and spread herself as wide as possible to cover both choices. Unexpectedly Weiss chose neither and dropped to the ground. She slid through Yang's legs and popped up on the other side. Yang did manage to knock the ball off course so Weiss had to spend precious seconds getting it back but it was probably too late anyway. Weiss made her shot and Yang barely managed to touch it with her fingertips.

The ball rebounded and hit the rim. It bounced straight upwards and all three of them watched it intently. When it came back down it circle the rim a few times before lazily tipping over and into the net.

Yang trotted over to catch it after a few bounces. "Wow that was a great ending to a good game. Bring that game to the try outs and you are sure to make the cut." Yang held her hand out to Weiss.

"Bring that kind of game to regionals and we are sure to lose." Weiss said. She clicked her tongue, grabbed her bag and strutted out of the Dragon's Roost.

"What is her problem!?" Yang said stomping her foot.

Pyrrha joined her on the court. "Come on let's go get some ice cream."


	3. A wolf approaches

**A wolf approaches**

 

Yang put down the tray of food and slipped into the booth Pyrrha had picked out. "Mmm yes burgers and ice cream for two. My favourite meal." She said as she divided everything up between them and then pushed the tray out of the way.

Taking her share Pyrrha started tucking in. "We really should start eating better than this." That didn't actually slow down her eating at all but she felt she should make the point. Besides she only ate this stuff every now and again but Yang seemed to live off of fast food and take out when Ruby didn't cook for her. They didn't talk much then until they had both finished and moved onto the ice cream which they ate at a much more relaxed pace.

"Someone sure was hungry." Pyrrha said pointing at Yang with her spoon.

Yang belched happily. "Yeah well you weren't far behind me and you didn't play a game against a teeny tiny ball of anger." Yang clacked the side of her glass as she took an angry scoop. "But let's not talk about her. How went your holiday? Seems like we have been together all day and not had a chance to talk about anything."

"Oh it was great. Lots of sun, sand and sea." Pyrrha knew Yang didn't get many holidays, especially out of the country. It wasn't that the Rose family was poor but with two kids and only one parent a lot of extravagances became much harder to afford. So she tended to live vicariously through Pyrrha's yearly trips to various holiday spots. "I even had a go at surfing. It was very fun but I need some more practice before I can say I'm good at it."

"That's our humble Pyrrha." Yang laughed. Then she waggled her eye brows at her. "Meet any cute boys? Or girls? Any saucy little secrets you want to tell me?"

"Oh come on I'm not you, I don't hook up with strangers. Besides even if I did I'm still not going to try and get laid with my parents hanging around." Pyrrha said. "But yes I did see several attractive members of both sexes."

Yang pushed her empty ice cream glass to the side and wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. "And you didn't bring one back for me?"

Pyrrha rolled her eyes. "That sounds like Yang code for 'hurry up and give me my souvenir'." She pulled a pair of packages from her bag and passed them over the table.

The first that Yang opened was a flat, soft rectangle. She was pretty sure what it was because tradition demanded it. When she ripped open the paper she was rewarded by a shirt emblazoned with 'my friend went to Atlas and all I got was this t-shirt'. Yang grinned. "Ah yes another one for the collection. I'm surprised you manage to still find these everywhere. Now on to the real present." This one was a small box holding a key ring. The charm on it was a semi-circle with the word 'best' on it. "Much as I'm willing to accept the title of best I don't really get it?"

Without a word Pyrrha pulled out her keys that had a matching charm on them. She moved the two charms close together and they clacked together. Combined they read 'best friends'. "They are magnetic so the pull together gently."

"Oh my gosh that's so great." Yang said doing her best to pull Pyrrha into a hug over top of the table. Then her eyes flicked up and she pulled Pyrrha down below the walls of the booth. "Oh man that's her." She hissed with her eyes on the door.

"That's who?" Pyrrha tried to turn and look but Yang pulled her back down, they were pretty much under the table now. "Yang. What is going on?"

"This girl who just walked in. She came up to me at the river side court and was vaguely threatening about our chances in regionals." Yang peeked up and then ducked down. "She plays for some team called the White Fang which I've never heard of."

"How about we-" Pyrrha started but Yang pressed a finger to her lips and made a hushing noise. Pyrrha obediently started to whisper. "How about we just say hello? Or we ignore her and she'll likely leave us alone."

Yang looked at her like she had just said something entirely ridiculous. "Oh come on she's clearly my mysterious aloof rival. Haven't you watched any sports shows ever?"

Pyrrha couldn't respond for a moment as her brain worked through that. "You are aware this is actually real life right? Besides you already have a mysterious aloof rival. Her name is Weiss."

"As much as I'd love to watch this piece of performance art I feel I should point out that I know you are here." They both looked up to find the girl in question standing over them. "You can get up off of the floor if you want. I won't bite."

*******

Weiss dropped her bag by the door and walked over to the sofa. She flopped face down on it and after a few seconds of fumbling she kicked her shoes off. The apartment was dark and cold and empty but that didn't mean she could lay here all night even if she was tired. When she got back up she noted that the answering machine was blinking at her. She prodded the button a bit harder than was strictly necessary. It wasn't exactly a hard guess as to who had left the message.

"Hello Miss Schnee, your father asked me to contact you." She recognised the voice of his assistant but his name escaped her right now. He sounded like even he was uninterested in passing the information on to her. "The expenses for your rent and food has been deposited to the account set up as per you and your father's agreement. He has an additional message too. He declines your request for additional funds for extracurricular activities. He does not mind you indulging in this basketball hobby as long as it does not affect your studies but if you need any money to pursue it then you will have to come up with the money yourself."

"Yeah I miss you too dad." She spat at the phone. Her father wouldn't be able to hear her but then he didn't listen when she was right in front of him so what was the chance he was going to now she was on the other side of the country? The amount of money he deem as necessary for her to survive was more like the bare minimum. In fact she wouldn't be surprised if he had actually got his accountant team to calculate the smallest budget he could possibly give her. If she wanted to get by she was going to have to get a job which would be tough between school and practice. But her father was expecting her to fail and have to admit she was wrong so she could come back home. There was no way that was going to happen.

She had walked home in the clothes she had played in and she needed to get out of them. She would have liked a soak in a bath but her apartment only had a small shower so she had to make do. The hot water felt good on her tense muscles. She had worked up a real sweat on the court. As much as she looked down on Yang's abilities they were at least good enough to make her work for the victory. She washed her hair while she was under and then stepped out. Checking over her face and skin for any blemishes she found herself flawless other than the scar on her eye. Once she had looked herself over she dried off and pulled on her night dress and headed back out to the main room.

The assistant mentioning food had reminded her how hungry she was but if she wanted to eat she had to go out and buy something, that or order in. Either way she would have to put clothes on and she wasn't in the mood for that right now. Maybe she'd feel more like interacting with people after she brushed her hair.

*******

"How did you see us when we are right down here?" Yang said standing up and almost successfully knocking her glass to the floor. Pyrrha caught it on her own way up. The girl looked between them for a while and then just silently pointed behind them. The booth they were in was backed against the window that was open to the front of the restaurant. The girl would have seen them before she even came in the door. "Well now I just feel silly."

"You didn't start feeling silly when you were crawling around on the floor?" The girl said while Yang and Pyrrha got themselves settled back in their seats. Even though there was space for her to sit down herself she grabbed a chair from a nearby table and sat on the edge of it. "My name is Blake, the captain of the NVA White Fang."

Yang and Pyrrha looked at each other. "Hello there, I'm Pyrrha. And this is Yang. We play for the Beacon Hill Dragons."

"Oh I know." Blake said. "And I'm glad I ran into you, I wanted to offer you a practice match with us. Both teams could do with a warm up before the season starts wouldn't you agree?"

"I was not aware NVA had a female team." Pyrrha said.

Blake leaned back in her chair. "We didn't until this year. It's my third year so I figured I was running out of time and decided to make one."

Yang drummed her hands on the table ideally. "Well much as we would like to kick your butts we don't actually have a team yet. We have two members right now and you are looking at them." She pointed over at Pyrrha. Then she thought of Nora and Weiss. "Well ok two and two halves."

"So three then?" Blake responded. "Well when you get one together how about you give the school a call and we can set it up? The only team we have to practice against is the boys and they act like it would be the end of the world to face us small and weak little women. They take it way too easy on us. So it would be good to have someone kick our butts."

Yang huffed. "Ugh boys. Best thing about going to an all-girls school is no boys." She leaned towards Pyrrha and in a stage whisper she said. "Worst thing is no boys."

"We would love to give you a game when we have a team together. Once we hold try outs I will pass the message on to whoever becomes captain and then we will work it out." Pyrrha said completely ignoring Yang as hard as it was.

Blake got up and returned her chair. "Well I look forwards to it. Let's see if the new generation of Dragons have some more fire in their bellies than the old one." With that she left to find her own place to sit.

"See I told you. Vaguely threatening and negative about our chances." Yang said gathering up her rubbish.

Pyrrha got up and looked over at the back of Blake's head. "You really think so? She seemed pretty optimistic about our chances."

Returning from the bin Yang poked her. "Yeah about the new generation. Don't forget we are still the old generation." She pushed her out the door and into the sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tune in next time for try outs and the return of Nora~


	4. Valkyrie ascending

Yang's shot bounced off the rim and she caught it on the rebound. She was met with Ruby's cheering as she turned around. "You celebrate all you want little sister but remember that this is only my H. You however have H-O-R and S." The pair of them were playing horse in the afternoon sun. The front of their house had a hoop attached over the driveway. It was far from tournament standard but it was good enough for messing around between sisters. It was also plenty of space for Yang to win almost every time.

"Oh come on Yang. Couldn't you let me be happy for like five seconds?" Ruby said. She knocked the ball out of Yang's hands and sent it out across towards the neighbour's car. In a panic she ran over to catch it before the impact. Yang just stood in place a poked her tongue out. "See I was gonna do something dumb seconds after anyway so you shouldn't make fun of me." Ruby stuck her own tongue out.

Gesturing for the ball back Yang said. "Ok fine for scoring a letter on me I'll buy you a cookie. Now come on it's my turn to shoot something."

Ruby thought for a second and then clutched the ball tight to her chest. "Make it a bag of cookies and you have a deal."

"You do drive a hard bargain Miss Rose but I accept." Yang said and caught the ball that was aimed slightly more towards her head than was honestly safe.

"Well make sure you hold up your side of the bargain Miss Xiao Long or you will be hearing from my lawyers."

Yang bounced the ball in thought. She backed up to where the drive met the pavement. It was about the same distance as the three point line she guessed. This was going to be awesome if she pulled it off. She made the shot and again it rebounded off but this time that was exactly what she had planned to happen. Running forward at top speed she jumped and caught the ball in mid-air. Slamming it down into the hoop she hollered in exhilaration. Then her hands slipped and she fell down on her backside.

"Does falling down count as part of the shot?" Ruby asked helping Yang to her feet. "You were very graceful for a second there before it all fell apart."

With a quick twist Yang turn things around and got Ruby into a headlock. "Oh come on you wish you could be as graceful as me."

Then her feet left the ground as Ruby lifted her up by the waist. Her weight was too much for the smaller weight so Ruby started backpedalling to try and stop from falling over herself. She managed to make it far enough that when they tumbled down it was onto the relative soft landing of the small grass bank between the pavement and the road. Ruby broke free and flopped onto Yang's stomach. They both burst into laughter and Yang wrapped her arms around Ruby.

"Do you know who you have to face this year yet? How long before you have to worry about Vale Public?" Ruby asked when they had calmed down. The Vale Public School Ursas were the team that had beaten them in the finals last year. But they were on the south side so they were more likely to face them later rather than sooner.

"Naw won't get the brackets until we submit our team properly. Can't do that without a full roster so we have to wait until tomorrow at the earliest." Yang said gently petting Ruby's hair. "I'm more worried about this Blake chick and NVA's new team. They are an unknown factor right now. But if it's unknown then no need to worry about it in advance. Now are we going to finish the game or are you just going to take the E?"

"As you well know the great Ruby Rose doesn't back down from a challenge." She bounced to her feet and took her place. "So rebound, catch and then dunk. I can do that. I think. Maybe." She shot and started moving but skidded to a stop when the ball went through the net perfectly. Ruby sank to her knees and howl in defeat. "NOOOOOOOO. How have I reached a point in my life where a perfect three pointer is a bad thing?"

Their father's voice called out from the window. "Come on in girls, dinner is ready."

"Good thing too." Yang said as Ruby got up and wiped away her tears. "I could eat a horse." She nipped playfully at Ruby's neck and chased her inside.

*******

"Well we are happy to have you on board at Tukson's book trade." Tukson himself said as he led Weiss through the book store. She didn't exactly have any qualifications to get anything better than stacking shelves of one kind or another. Conveniently this place was in need of more staff in just that position. "Once my other employee gets here I'll have her set you up with what you will be doing. Uniform is pretty relaxed, just as long as you look smart and wear your name badge which I will sort out for you. While you wait you can make do with this." He handed her a badge with the store name on the front and where there would be a name was 'I'm new but happy to help'. Weiss managed to catch herself before she scoffed at that.

The bell at the front of the store rang and a dark skinned girl walked in. She was wearing a school uniform but Weiss didn't know any of the uniforms in the area other than Beacon Hill's so she couldn't place where she went. "OK I know I'm late but that's only because the train was late and..." Her eyes flicked to Weiss for a second and then back to Tukson. "So who is this lovely young thing? Got a girlfriend at last?"

"She's actually your new co-worker. Weiss this is Emerald, Emerald this is Weiss. I need you to show her the ropes today." Tukson said.

"Oh yeah cause it's so hard to put out books." Emerald cocked her head at the door behind the counter. "Come on I'll go over the basics while I get changed." She said as she almost bumped into Weiss on the way past.

Tukson stopped Weiss from following. "I know she can be rather coarse but give her a chance. It's going to be hard to work with her if you get into arguments on your first day."

"Oh trust me I'm used to meeting abrasive people in this city." Weiss said. Yang came to mind for one but there were plenty more so Emerald wouldn't make much of a difference to her over all experience. She moved around Tukson and followed through the door Emerald had taken.

As she entered Emerald was just slipping her shirt off of her shoulders. In the split second before Weiss spun around she got an eyeful of Emerald's chest and abs. A sing song voice came from behind her. "Oh wow you were blushing. I guess I'll take that as a compliment. I mean I've been working out lately so I'm happy to hear it's paying off."

"Oh get over yourself. I was just embarrassed for you. You have such a lack of decorum how could I do anything else?" Weiss was flustered and had to admit that Emerald was a very good looking girl but she wasn't going to say that out loud any time soon. She thought she covered for herself quite well.

Emerald scoffed. "Yeah well I'm sorry that I didn't grow up in a palace like you little miss princess. Excuse me if I didn't learn that kind of thing on the streets. Yeah you can turn around now, I'm done." Emerald now had a t-shirt on and had replaced her skirt with a pair of trousers. She was also holding Weiss' wallet in her hands. "Man this looks expensive. I think I could feed myself for a week just from selling it let alone what's in it. Oh, it's pretty much empty."

Weiss snatched it out of her hands. "How dare you take what is mine?"

"Pretty easily actually." Emerald said and stuck out her tongue. "Now we better get some work done or Tukson is gonna fire us both."

Weis ground her teeth in frustration. Dealing with this girl was almost making her look forward to meeting Yang again at try outs. But she needed this job so it was grin and bear it time.

*******

Yang was late. She was very late. History class has run long and so she had to run to the other end of school grounds to get to the Dragon Roost in time. She burst through the door and skidded to a halt at centre court. Throwing her hands up with a dramatic flair she crowed. "Hey here I am! Who is ready to shoot some hoops?"

Across from her at the benches Pyrrha waved back at her. "Hello again Yang. I think you might have slightly over estimated the turnout." Stood on one side of Pyrrha was Weiss who was engrossed in her phone rather than what was going on around her. On the other side was Nora who was balancing a basketball on either hand, a third on the toe of her shoe and a final one on the tip of her nose. There was no one else in the hall beyond the four of them. "Please tell me the other like fifty or so girls are just stood behind you guys."

"Nope, just us." Nora said and started trying to juggle the basket balls but it just resulted in all four of them crashing down around her. She tried to grab them but they all bounced out of her reach and scattered across the court. "Whoops. I sure hope that doesn't count against me."

Weiss moved to her bag which was sat to the side and put her phone away. "I doubt it will. Given the fact there's only four of us trying to get one of five slots I have the feeling we might just have an easy time."

Yang grabbed the ball that had rolled up to her feet. "We can still vote you out if you don't want to be a team player."

"Yeah well how about I take that to Goodwitch and see what she says? Besides you have no choice if you want to play in regionals." Weiss waved her arm at the empty room.

"Yeah I really don't understand that." Yang grumbled. "I made posters and everything."

A piercing whistle rang out and silenced them both. "Thank you Nora." Pyrrha said as Nora pulled her fingers out of her mouth. "Look we need every player we can get so both of you make the cut. We can worry about the last member some other time but first we need to see what you have. Me and Yang know each other's play style inside and out and Yang and Weiss had their little one on one but other than that none of us have ever played together. So either of you have any experience?" She smiled at the three of them in turn.

Weiss glared at Yang a bit longer before turning to Pyrrha. "I played reserve for my old school back in Haven last year. They had quite a few more members so I never had to step up but I was part of practices with the best team in Haven. Unlike you they made it to nationals."

Yang gritted her teeth but held back on a possible come back. "And I mean I can vouch for how good you are. But I'll get you next time." She laughed jovially. "What about you Nora?"

"Well to be honest I've never actually played a game or anything but I really like the sport." Nora said as Pyrrha gathered up the basketballs and returned them to the cart. "But I'm not entirely unskilled. Let me show you my awesomeness." She waved her hands at Yang.

Yang shrugged and tossed her ball over. Nora caught it and spun around in a twirl. "Alright now watch this." She called and jump shot the ball into the hoop from where she stood. It went through perfectly and didn't even touch the rim. Everyone looked dumbfounded for a moment.

Pyrrha broke the silence. "I think I speak for everyone when I say I wasn't expecting that."

"Oh please." Weiss said. "Anyone can have a lucky shot. I bet you couldn't do that ag-"

There was a swishing noise as a second ball sunk through the hoop. Nora took each and every ball off the cart and moved to a new position before sinking it. She moved back and back until she was pretty much shooting across the whole court. With a grin she looked back at Weiss. "I'm actually pretty good at jump shots. The only problem is it takes a moment to get my bearings so I'm not sure how accurate I can be in an actual game." Then whistling a happy tune she put the balls back on the cart again.

"Ok so you can do it again." Weiss said.

Yang leaned her arm on Pyrrha's shoulder. "Looks like we have a pretty mean team going on here. The White Fang and the Ursas better both look out for our flames this time around."

"Yes if you and Weiss don't kill each other first." Pyrrha said. She gave a slight chuckle as Nora rode past on the cart and saluted them.

"Hey no hold up we've forgotten something." Weiss said grabbing the cart and stopping Nora. "We need to pick a captain. I feel I should have the spot since I have the most experience. How do you vote?"

"Pyrrha." Yang said right away pointing at her old friend. She didn't mention that the pair of them had been playing since they were five so they had a good shot at having more experience than Weiss.

"I'm also going to vote for Pyrrha." Nora chirped.

Pyrrha smiled and gave a little bow. "Well as flattered as I am it would be rather big headed for me to vote for myself don't you think? Especially since I've already won anyway. So I shall place my backing behind Yang."

"Wait. No." Weiss spluttered. "Why here? I'm clearly the best choice."

Yang tried her best to hold back from laughing. "Hey now at least you didn't come last."

"No that would be me!" Nora said pointing at her grinning face.

Weiss gave the cart a shove sending it and Nora rattling across the room.


End file.
